To a whole generation of movie fans, Bobcat Goldthwait will forever be crazy Officer Zed from the Police Academy films, but a quick look at his recent CV reveals the emergence of a talented writer and director with a penchant for sophisticated black comedy. God Bless America is Goldthwait’s latest satirical attempt to mine comedy […]
With Shadow Dancer, director James Marsh (Man on Wire, Project Nim) takes us back to a time when – in the UK, at least – the word “terrorist” did not automatically carry connotations of the Islamic ‘other’. A fine example of the gritty yet increasingly glamorous film-making for which the BBC is developing a reputation, […]
Every once in a while, a film comes along which seems to tick all the right boxes. Beautifully shot, with a compelling story, complex characters and plenty of edge-of-your-seat moments, Peter Chan’s kung-fu detective thriller Dragon (Wu Xia) is just such a film, and makes for a stunning cinematic experience. Set in China’s Yunnan province […]
The Fourth Dimension is a strange beast. Although billed as a single feature, it is in fact a succession of three short films – one American, one Russian, one Polish – all of which present their own unique take on the impact that the fourth, temporal dimension has on people’s lives. A series of quotes […]
Last year, Joe Cornish’s Attack the Block demonstrated that, post-Shaun of the Dead, the UK was capable of producing impressive monster movies which could acknowledge a slew of Hollywood influences while still maintaining their own identity. Jon Wright’s Grabbers has now, it seems, done the same for Ireland, albeit in slightly more parodic fashion. The […]
“Guy, did the world end?” “I’m not sure.” I don’t know who wrote the blurb for this film on the official Edinburgh Festival website, but it’s very misleading. As far as I can see, there are no “space aliens” to be found in Young Dudes, the latest feature from acclaimed Taiwanese director DJ Chen. […]